Attack on "Attack": verdict passed

The Zyuzinsky District Court of Moscow has sentenced ten members of the far-right Ataka movement.

On May 23, 2016, the Zyuzinsky District Court of Moscow passed a sentence on members of the Russian National Association “Ataka” movement.

In total, Stanislav Mityaev, Vladimir Tkach, Roman Chernikov, Viktor Shvedov, Thomas Paypalas, Andrei Temnikov, Sergei Sukhanov, Alexander Mukhortykh, Vitaly Gagkoev and Sergei Ulyanov were involved in the case.

Depending on the role of each, they were found guilty under Part 2 of Article 282.1 of the Criminal Code (participation in an extremist community), paragraph 2 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code (inciting hatred or enmity committed by an organized group) and Part 1 of Article 222 Criminal Code (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation or carrying of weapons, ammunition).

Charges, as they are listed on the website of the court: Gagkoev V.V. (Art. 282.1, Part 2 (removed on 07/06/2016);), Mityaev S.V. (Art. 282 (rev. 12.27.2018) , Part 2, p. c;; Art. 282.1, Part 1 (rev. 07.06.2016);), Mukhortykh A.V. (Art. 282 (rev. 27.12.2018) , Part 2, p. c;; Art. 282.1, Part 2 (rev. 06.07.2016);), Paipalas T.V. (Art. 282.1, Part 1 (removed on 07/06/2016);), Sukhanov S.S. (Art. 282 (rev. 27.12.2018) , Part 2, p. c;; Art. 282.1, Part 1 (rev. 06.07.2016);), Temnikov A.S. (Art. 282 (rev. 27.12.2018) , Part 2, p. c;; Art. 282.1, Part 1 (rev. 06.07.2016);), Tkach V.D. Ulyanov S.A. (Art. 282.1, Part 2 (removed on 07/06/2016);), Chernikov R.O. (Art. 222, Part 1;; Art. 282.1, Part 1 (removed on 07/06/2016);), Shvedov V.B. (Art. 282 (rev. 27.12.2018) , Part 2, p. c; Art. 282.1, Part 1 (rev. 06.07.2016).

As the lawyer of one of the defendants in the case told OVD-info, there was a charge of possession of weapons (Article 222 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), but it has nothing to do with the Ataka case and the prosecution did not claim this. At home, one of the defendants in the case was found to have a converted traumatic pistol and a dummy machine gun. The charge of possession of a weapon was attached to the main case in accordance with the procedural law.

The court sentenced the Ataka activists to a suspended sentence of 10 months to 2 years and 6 months.

Earlier, Maxim Yaryshkin and Vladimir Kudryashov were convicted in the Attack case. Yaryshkin was sentenced to two years probation. Kudryashov was detained on the territory of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) at the request of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation with a request for his extradition. He received a year in a general regime colony. Both defendants pleaded guilty.

Recall that the case against ten members of the "Attack" in December 2015 was returned to the prosecutor's office for investigation. Three defendants in the case - Stanislav Mityaev, Vladislav Tkach and Roman Chernikov - were in jail during the investigation. In February 2016, when the case had already been submitted to the court and was returned by the judge to the prosecutor's office to eliminate the violations, they were released on bail not to leave.

At the origins of the "Attack" are the activists of the "Restrukt" group. Attack members said that the Restruct movement "degenerated into a PR platform for its leader." The members of the new organization, according to the Russian Investigative Committee, “planned to promote National Socialism and conduct raids against drug addicts, pedophiles and illegal migrants, as well as “direct actions against the current government.”

As follows from the materials of the criminal case, in June 2013, Vladimir Kudryashov, together with other persons, organized the RNO "Attack", the purpose of which "at the initial stage was to incite hatred and enmity towards representatives of other nationalities." Kudryashov organized public speeches and campaigns, including on the Internet, and his accomplices published xenophobic materials online.

Initially, "Attack" was a public page on the social network "VKontakte", where social and political issues were discussed. Later, a site of the same name was founded. In parallel with the movement, the consumer cooperative "Unity" operated. Attack activists distributed leaflets and painted graffiti with the movement's logo on building facades. The court qualified individual texts written by members of the group as extremist. For example, the note "The Benefits of Tolerance and Stability".

During the investigation of the criminal case, searches were carried out at the organizers' premises, where nationalist literature, firearms and ammunition were confiscated. Linguistic examinations were also carried out.

The first reports of an investigation into the activities of Ataka appeared in the fall of 2014. But at that time, Stanislav Mityaev and the unemployed Vladimir Tkach were considered the leaders of the movement.

The suspects themselves claim that they acted within the law and even took a subscription from new members of the organization, in which they pledged to comply with the laws of the Russian Federation. The attack was disbanded in April 2014, after searches and interrogations of the defendants in the case began.
Sources

• In Moscow, all members of the ATAKA extremist movement were convicted // Official website of the RF IC in Moscow. May 23, 2016
• Defendants in the case of the creation of the nationalist movement "Attack" received terms of up to 2.5 years in prison // Agency Moscow. May 23, 2016
• The court sentenced members of the nationalist group to probation // ITAR-TASS. May 23, 2016
• Sentence card // Website of the Moscow City Court